Vol 8. Chapter 15: You Just Said He Was Your Husband, Didn’t You?

Orion walked slowly up to Hefei, lowering her gaze to the little one before her.

Hefei looked back at Orion without shying away. Big and small, bright and dim, the two pairs of eyes met, but Hefei couldn’t read anything from the expressionless face of this older sister.

So Hefei lifted her chin, reached out her hand, and introduced herself:

“Hello, Sister Orion. My name is Hefei, Hefei Constantine.”

Orion politely reached out and shook her hand lightly.

“You already know my name.”

“Mm.”

After the brief introduction, they let go of each other’s hands.

With the lines adjusted and checked, Hefei’s first inspection officially began. Other teams were already running into Biyun Valley. Teresa replaced the reins on her saddle, preparing to take Muse toward the test site.

But just before they left, Orion’s voice came from behind them:

“Stay safe, and protect the dragon child, Teresa.”

Teresa turned and nodded.

“I know, Captain.”

“Mm. Go.”

Teresa gently took Muse’s hand and jogged toward the valley entrance. Muse looked back while running and waved at Hefei:

“See you in a bit, Hefei!”

Hefei lifted her face high and shouted back:

“Alright, see you in a bit!”

As Muse and Teresa’s figures faded into the mist, Hefei turned her eyes back to her own examiner. After a moment’s thought, she asked:

“Sister Teresa just called you... Captain?”

Orion inclined her head slightly. The movement was very small.

“Mm.”

Without pausing, she strode toward the valley entrance.

“We should head out too.”

Her reply didn’t reveal much, but it wasn’t lacking either—just exactly what was asked, nothing more.

This was just like her usual style when carrying out missions. In Orion’s own words—precise, like a machine.

Hefei sighed inwardly. Looks like her wish for a chatty teammate had been far too extravagant.

If this Orion managed to say more than thirty sentences to her throughout the whole assessment, that would be a miracle.

Thinking so, Hefei quickened her pace to keep up.

The entrance to Biyun Valley was shrouded in thick mist. Upon entering, one couldn’t distinguish direction at all—where you ended up depended entirely on luck.

Inside the fog, Hefei turned her palm upward, sparking a small flame of dragonfire to light the way and drive back the mist nearby.

Orion made no move, simply followed silently behind Hefei.

After all, it was simple—mercenary warriors like her and Teresa were here as examiners. Their duty was only to observe and record the children’s performance.

When necessary, they would step in to help complete cooperative tasks.

After walking a while in the mist, Hefei asked:

“By the way, Sister Orion, Teacher ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Samantha said your Blazing Sun Clan also sent students for this test. But I didn’t see them at the entrance earlier?”

“They entered from another gate.”

“I see... then will we meet them later?”

“We will.”

“Oh...”

So stingy with words...

Hefei stopped forcing small talk and focused on getting through the fog.

Meanwhile, at the other entrance Orion had just mentioned, the drawing of lots had ended. The Blazing Sun students were very satisfied with their dragon partners.

Except...

“Uncle, why are you different from the other dragon uncles and aunties?”

“Different how?”

“Where’s your tail?”

“...”

Leon let out a long breath, speechless. His mind raced, scrambling for a cover story. Then a soft laugh drifted from behind him.

Leon turned toward the sound—it was Rosvisser.

“Laugh, laugh, laugh. What’s so funny?”

The queen suppressed her smile, steadied her breathing, then looked back at Leon.

“Why should I hold back? Just answer the child’s question. Why don’t you have a tail?”

“Hey, you—”

Leon pressed his lips together, then looked again at the Blazing Sun child. After a moment of thought, he finally said:

“Jain, actually among dragons, those without tails are the really powerful ones. The ones with tails—those are messy and undisciplined, with their colorful, flashy tails. Do you understand?”

The boy named Jain blinked in confusion and said,

“But Uncle Leon, I’ve read books about dragons. They said the longer the tail, the older the dragon and the stronger they are. But you don’t have a tail...”

“...Jain, have you heard the saying ‘things turn into their opposite when pushed too far’?”

Jain nodded.

“Exactly!”

General Leon clapped his hands, making up nonsense with a straight face:

“Your uncle here is too strong—so strong that a tail isn’t even a measure anymore. You get it?”

Jain nodded slowly, half-understanding, clearly already taken in.

As if he would admit that the proud, long-trained Chief of Dragons had lost his tail. Better to spin tales.

“If I can handle Rosvisser’s sharp tongue, how could a little kid stump me?”

“Tch, silver-tongued.”

Rosvisser’s dry remark drifted over.

Leon shot her a glance, not bothering to argue. He stood up, patted Jain on the shoulder.

“Alright, little Jain, from now on you’ll follow me into the valley. Uncle guarantees you a top score.”

At the promise of high marks, Jain’s eyes lit up.

“Really, Uncle Leon?!”

“Of course! Your Uncle Leon grew up eating nothing but championships and first place~”

As he carried on coaxing the boy, Rosvisser’s voice chimed in from the side, playful and provoking:

“And what do you eat after you’re grown up?”

“My wife’s homemade bento, of course. Filling and delicious.”

Rosvisser pulled a face at him, tongue out, then turned back to her own little examinee without further comment.

“You’re Claire, right?”

The queen bent down. The girl was quite short, so Rosvisser had to stoop to meet her eyes.

The child named Claire nodded obediently.

“Yes, Auntie Rosvisser.”

“Good. Do you have any goals for this test? Like just now—Uncle Leon boasted he’d win a championship for Jain.”

Claire didn’t hesitate. She glanced at Leon, who was being mobbed and roasted by the other adults, and said:

“I don’t have big goals. I just want to beat Jain.”

Rosvisser raised her fine brows, suddenly interested.

“Why beat Jain?”

“Because... Jain always competes with me, and I always lose. My family values him a lot, and it’s annoying.”

Children at this age didn’t have schemes. Claire’s thought was simple—I want to be better than him.

Rosvisser understood well. After all, all her own kids had been through this stage.

She smiled and pinched Claire’s cheek.

“Alright then. This time we’ll make sure to beat them good, alright?”

Claire answered firmly:

“Alright!”

After a pause, Claire asked curiously:

“By the way, Auntie Rosvisser, you seem awfully interested in beating Jain’s team too?”

Rosvisser’s eyes curved, her gaze narrowing as she smiled.

“That Uncle Leon over there? He’s actually my husband. We often compete—whoever wins gets to be the one in charge at home.”

“Uh...”

Settling household rank by competition... Claire didn’t reply, but looked thoughtful.

“What’s this? Did I hear someone say they want to beat us, the ‘super-handsome tough guys’?”

Rosvisser didn’t need to turn. From the voice alone, she knew who it was. She stood, looking helplessly at the fool.

“‘Super-handsome tough guys’? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Me and Jain’s team-up. Pretty cool, right?”

There they were—one big, one small—both carrying bows, posing in chuunibyou fashion like they thought they looked awesome.

Rosvisser covered her face, not wanting to admit she knew Leon at all.

Claire eyed the slightly ridiculous man. She didn’t understand why he struck such a pose, but maybe Auntie Rosvisser liked that type?

Claire tilted her head and asked softly:

“Auntie Rosvisser, you just said Uncle Leon is your husband, didn’t you?”

“...I didn’t—I never—I didn’t say it, you misheard.”